News Update: 21 July 2007

1) Breakthrough in Nuke Deal: India and the US reportedly made substantial progress in official level talks over the civil nuclear deal and decided to refer the issue to respective governments for final review. The US Under Secretary Nicholas Burns and Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon clinched the deal.

2) Prez Poll Counting Begins: Counting of the votes to select the 12th President of India began at 11 AM. The result is expected to arrive by 2 PM. UPA-Left candidate Pratibha Patil is all set to become the next President of India.

3) Govt to ban Smoking in Offices: According to Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss, all workplaces in India will be tobacco-free and this will come in force in about three to four months.

4) Lord's Test: After restricting England to a paltry 298 in the first innings, India lost the advantage and finished the day at 145/4. All the top order batsmen failed to rise to the occasion and perished cheaply. According to the latest report, India were bowled out for 201. James Anderson took 5 wickets.

5) No Charges against Haneef: Finally, the Australian Federal Police admitted that the charges filed against Dr. Mohammed Haneef were incorrect and his SIM card was not found at Glasgow Airport. It is expected that Haneef will be released soon.

6) Grenade Attack on Amarnath Piligrims: At least 6 people were injured when militants hurled grenades on the Amarnath piligrams at a base camp near Pahalgam.